Sincerity and Excitement: when should be emphasized …lib-sca.hkbu.edu.hk/trsimage/hp/06015638.pdf ·  · 2010-08-17Sincerity and Excitement: when should be emphasized in the Chinese

Sincerity and Excitement: when should be

emphasized in the Chinese context?

- Evidence from Chinese medicine industry

BY

Kwan Man Ching

06015638

China Business Studies / BBA

An Honours Degree Project Submitted to the School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Graduation Requirement for the

Degree of Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours)

Hong Kong Baptist University

Hong Kong

April 2009

- 1 -

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to my

supervisor, Dr. Alex Tsang for his wholehearted support during the whole process of

this project. Thank you for all his valuable time and recommendations. Without his

advice and guidance, I am sure that this project would not be completed in such a

smooth way.

Besides, I would like to thank all those who have helped me distribute the

questionnaires. Here I would also like to specially thank Dr. Tracy Zhang for inviting

her students to be participants. Also, I would like to show my appreciation to the

participants spending their valuable time to fill in the questionnaires.

Again and again, thank you very much for all the people who have assisted me in

this research project. I would also like to thank my friends for encouraging and

helping me when I faced difficulties in completing the project.

ABSTRACTS

This paper aims to bridge the gaps between brand management studies between

the western and the Chinese literatures. It examines the relationships between brand

personality and brand credibility moderated by the different country image

perceptions, using two-way ANOVA analysis. Based on the five brand personalities

proposed by Aaker (1997), two brand personalities, sincere and exciting, were

selected. These two personalities were tested under two country images, ancient and

modern, which reflect how consumers perceive the recent development and growth of

China. Evidences from a student sample participants revealed that the moderation

effect of country image on the brand personalities to brand credibility is significant. It

was shown that a sincere brand would generally perform better under an ancient

image, while the modern image fit much well with an exciting brand. Furthermore,

each country image perceptions contributed differently to the relationship. Results

manifested that the moderation effect on exciting brand was stronger when comparing

to that on sincere brand which was found insignificant. These findings illustrated the

fit and match of country image with the product category and brands. This provided

direct and important implications for future research and China brand managers.

KEYWORDS: China, Brand personality, Country-of-origin image, brand credibility

- 2 -

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgements 1

Abstracts 2

Problem Identification 4 - 5

Conceptual Background and Hypothesis building 6 - 13

Measurement 13 - 16

Research Methodology 17 - 21

Product category included in the study

Research design and Data Collection procedures

Result 21 - 28

Reliability and Validity

Manipulation check

Analyses

Discussion & implications 28 - 32

Theoretical implications

Managerial implications

Limitations & Future research 32 - 34

Conclusion 35 - 36

References 36 - 40

Appendix 41 - 57

Questionnaire samples

Advertisement samples (Sincere x Ancient)

Advertisement samples (Sincere x Modern)

Advertisement samples (Exciting x Ancient)

Advertisement samples (Exciting x Modern)

Tables of means and other statistical data

- 3 -

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION

At the point when Chinas engagement with the global market is unprecedented

in both its intensity and breadth, Chinas impact on the international arena becomes

increasingly significant. Simultaneously, China has also been influenced by various

values and cultures. Despite her long history and abundant heritage, the image of

China has been shaped to be more modernized and contemporary in the sake of

continuous growth. The way how consumers think about the country image of China

has changed. People, both in China and over the world, begin believing the Chinese

ability in advanced and scientific technology. Inevitably, how China should be viewed,

ancient or modern, causes ambivalence and confusion somehow. Under such a

dilemma, it is extraordinarily crucial for brands, especially those with rich traditional

Chinese color, to clearly demonstrate what they mean to the consumers. It is also

strategic and tactical to identify suitable brand personality and reinforce them to adapt

to ever-changing China.

Based on the customer-based brand equity (CBBE) model, brand meaning can be

broadly distinguished in terms of more functional, performance-related considerations

versus more abstract, imagery-related considerations (Keller, 2001). This research has

drawn more emphasis on the imagery side and one out of the four categories (Keller,

2001), brand personality, has been chosen to be tested.

- 4 -

Brand Personality can be strongly associated with usage and user imagery which

in turn attribute to brand meaning (Keller, 1993). It is an important concept for brand

differentiation, which significantly influences consumers purchase decision-making,

and is receiving increasing attention in the marketing domain (Aaker, 1997). A

favorable brand personality could also increase consumer preference and usage (Sirgy,

1982), foster feelings of comfort and confidence in the minds of consumers (Biel,

1993), enhance levels of loyalty and trust (Fournier, 1998), and could provide a basis

for brand differentiation among the myriad brands on the market, thus potentially

influencing consumers brand purchase intention (Keller, 1993 & 2003). Moreover,

Brand personality, as a fundamental source of products symbolic values, also

embodies the cultural meanings (McCracken, 1986). Nevertheless, in the emerging

market like China, researches and studies related to brand personality are limited in

amount.

Attempting to bridge the gaps, this research examines how country image, as a

moderation effect, impacts between brand personality and brand credibility. At the

same time, it is hoped that this research can provide useful insights for the positioning

and revitalization of Chinese brands, especially the hundred-year brands, by

addressing when a particular brand personality should be stressed.

- 5 -

CONCEPTUAL BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS BUILDING

Brand Personality

Research on brand personality has attracted significant attention during the last

decade, and could be subdivided into three streams (Wang & Yang, 2008). One

stream investigates the various dimensions of brand personality across countries and

areas, such as Aaker (1997); one stream focuses on the antecedents of brand

personality or its fit, such as Lau and Phau (2007) and another stream investigates the

consequences of brand personality or its fit, such as Freling and Forbes (2005). This

study is categorized under the third stream.

Brand personality is formally defined as the set of human characteristics

associated with a brand (Aaker, 1997). Based on the compositions of human

personality - the Big Five Model (Norman, 1963; Tupes & Christal, 1958), Aaker

(1997) suggested five brand personality dimensions (1) sincerity, (2)

excitement, (3) competence, (4) sophistication and (5) ruggedness. The brand

personality framework and scale developed by Aaker have important implications for

researches examining the perceptions of brand personality across cultures.

Nonetheless, the scale might not be appropriate for measuring brand personality in

different cultural contexts (Zhang, 2007). For example, some personality traits used,

- 6 -

- 7 -

such as western, independent, etc., may not be generalized in collective oriental

markets. For the Chinese context, these dimensions may need to be refined.

Sincere and exciting brand personality templates merit attention in the light of

their prominence in the marketing landscape (Aaker, Fournier & Brasel, 2004).

Further, these two personalities are fundamental in the sense that they capture the

majority of variance in personality ratings for brands (Aaker, 1997), a finding that is

robust across individuals, product categories and cultural contexts (Aaker,

Benet-Martinez & Garolera, 2001).

In China, Huang and Lu (2003) have developed 5-dimension measurement based

on the Confucian culture, constituted of ren (), zhi (), yong (), le ()

and ya (). They found ren embeds the most abundant cultural characteristics

and closely corresponds to sincerity. Notwithstanding the great significance of le

(), the conformity of le and excitement was found to be loosely defined, while

ren and excitement revealed a negative correlation. It seems that the description

exciting is fairly matched with the Chinese brands.

Yet, as Chinas technique and technology enhance with her modernization steps,

exciting Chinese brands increasingly prevail in the markets and challenge the status of

incumbent hundred-year, sincere brands. It is interesting to study how sincerity and

excitement brand personalities impact on Chinese brands to adapt to the Chinas

changes.

Brand Credibility

Brand, unlike a person, is unable to respond to the consumers. It is questionable

if there is a relationship between a brand and consumers. Nevertheless, some previous

studies found that the concept of a brand-consumer relationship is a logical extension

of brand personality. It was suggested that brands possess some human characteristic

(Aaker, 1991) and consumers are not difficult in thinking about them as human

characters (Blackston, 1993; Levy, 1985). Consequently, if brands can be personified,

then consumers would not just perceive them, but would also have relationships with

them (Blackston, 1992; Kapferer, 1992).

In a collective country, Chinese values trust and credibility which are essential

antecedents of relationship formation. Evidence about the importance of trust in loyal

relationships is paramount. Morgan and Hunt (1994) indicate that trust is a strong

predictor of relationship commitment. Many other studies have shown that trust is at

the core of successful relationships (e.g., Berry 1995).

A very similar concept, brand credibility, has also been studied as an important

antecedent of perceived quality (Aaker, 1991) and management of credibility is a key

- 8 -

issue in brand management (Swait & Erdem, 2007). Erdem and Swait (1998) define

brand credibility as "the believability of the product position information contained in

a brand, which entails consistently delivering what is promised.

The importance of credibility stems from the fact that imperfect and asymmetric

information creates consumer uncertainty about product attributes. When a market is

characterized by imperfect and asymmetric information, brands can serve as signals of

product positions (Wernerfelt, 1988). Credibility underlies consumer confidence in a

firm's product claims (Erdem & Swait, 1998). Differing from the credibility of

individual marketing mix signals (e.g. advertising as a quality signal), brand

credibility represents the cumulative effect of the credibility of all previous marketing

actions taken by that brand (Erdem, Swait & Louviere, 2002).

In general, brand credibility may (a) increasing perceived quality and/or raising

expected quality (ceteris paribus) (Aaker, 1991), (b) decrease the variance of

consumer attribute beliefs, i.e., consumer perceived risk (Srinivasan & Ratchford,

1991), and (c) decrease information costs (Shugan, 1980; Erdem & Swait, 1998).

In the CBBE model, brand credibility is a crucial component of brand judgments

at the Brand response stage. Keller (2001) defines that brand credibility refers to the

extent the brand as a whole is seen as credible in terms of three dimensions: perceived

- 9 -

expertise (e.g. competent, innovative, a market leader), trustworthiness (e.g.

dependable, keeping customer interests in mind), and likeability (e.g. fun, interesting,

worth spending time with). In the other words, credibility measures whether

consumers see the company or organization behind the brand as good at what it does,

concerned about its customers, and just plain likable (Keller, 2003, P. 68).

As the previous stage exerts influence on the next stage in the model, brand

meaning embarks different brand responses. Consequently, brand judgments, which

focus on customers personal opinions about the brand based on how they put together

different performance and imagery associations (Keller, 2001), may be altered by

brand personalities. This concept is in line with the findings of Fournier (1998) that

brand personality increases levels of trust and loyalty and this research will further

explore in how brand personality affecting brand credibility in particular.

Country image

The COO literature has usually assessed country image in terms of consumer

perceptions of products from different countries. In general, there are many

definitions of country image, which can be further categorized into 3 groups: (1)

overall country image (Martin & Eroglu, 1993), (2) aggregate product country image

(Narayana, 1981), and (3) specific product country image (Roth & Romeo, 1992). In

- 10 -

the research, the overall country image, which is the total of all descriptive, inferential,

and informational beliefs that a consumers has about a particular country (Martin &

Eroglu, 1993), will be taken. In line with one of the first COO studies Bannister and

Saunderss (1978) definition, it is a generalized image created by variables such as

representative products, economic and political maturity, historical events and

relationships, traditions, industrialization, the degree of technological virtuosity and

etc., which will have effects upon consumer attitudes additional to those emanating

from the significant elements of the products.

Country-of-origin image plays a significant role in consumers perceptions

toward products and brands from a given country (Bilkey & Nes, 1982; Johansson et

al., 1986) Hong & Wyer (1989) find that Country image could directly exert positive

impact on consumers product quality evaluations. Han (1989) has also attempted to

explain two roles of Country image; one is the halo effect and the other is the

summary effect. On one hand, when consumers are not familiar with a product or a

brand, the consumers tends to rely on halo effects which can indirectly affect

consumers product/brand attitudes when inferring the product/brand attributes. On

the other hand, they summarize their beliefs regarding product/brand attributes and

this summary construct directly influences consumers attitudes toward the

product/brand, when they are familiar with the product/brand.

- 11 -

Country images moderation effect

In accordance with Czellar (2003) and Roth & Romeo (1992), the relative

importance of brand personality may also depend on country image. Thakor &

Katsanis (1997) have developed a model of brand and country effects on quality

dimensions. They suggest that country image cues affect quality perceptions both

directly and through the brand cue. In this sense, brand credibility, as an impotent

antecedent of quality perceptions (Aaker, 1991), may also be influenced by country

image in the interaction with a particular brand trait. Thus, when a brand can be

distinctively differentiated from other brands on personality, and its COO image is

perceived as positive, consumers tends to be more reassured about and more easily

influenced by their perceptions of that brands personality. In contrast, when brand

personality is positive, while COO image is negative, the connection between these

two variables would become loose. Brand personality would be less influential

regarding brand credibility as a consequence.

However, it is questionable in what sense the country image is positive or

negative and how it fits the product categories. In the light of the need for further

research in the fits and the moderation effect, this research aims to examine the

interaction between the 2 contradictory brand personalities, sincerity and

excitement and the 2 extreme country images, ancient and modern, in the context of

- 12 -

a transforming market like China.

H1: Country image moderates between the relationship between brand

personality and brand credibility.

H2: Ancient country image influences brand credibility more positively on

sincere brand than on exciting brand.

H3: Modern country image influences brand credibility more positively on

exciting brand than on sincere brand.

FIGURE 1: CONCEPTUAL MODEL

Overall Brand Credibility

MEASUREMENT

Brand personality

Aaker (1997) developed and tested the Brand Personality Scale (BPS). BPS

includes five personality factors: sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication,

Brand Personality Sincerity

Excitement

+ Expertise Likeability

Trustworthiness

Country image Ancient Modern

- 13 -

and ruggedness. This study employs the sincerity and the excitement dimensions to

measure brand personality. All the facets and the sub-items were weighed and tested

based on their significance within the groups according to Aakers (1997) and the

pretests findings. Referred to the dimensions of Aaker (1997), 2 out of 4 facets under

both sincerity (i.e. Honest and Wholesome) and excitement (i.e. Spirited and

Up-to-date), consisting of 6 and 5 items for each personality respectively, were

selected and adopted to measure brand personality in this research.

Brand credibility

Keller (2003) has proposed possible measures of brand building blocks (Keller,

2003, P.75). The measure rating the brand credibility, in which 9 questions for the

three aspects were suggested, is employed. The questions will be converted to

statement with a 7-point Likert-typed scale applied. (1= strongly disagree; 7= strongly

agree).

Country image

Conceptualization and measurement of "country image dimensions" appears to

have evolved in a somewhat unsystematic manner in the COO literature (Thakor &

Katsanis, 1997). Martin & Eroglu (1993) proposed that country image has three

underlying dimensions, namely economic, political and technological. The

- 14 -

dimensions proposed are known as country image in macro-level. Other researches

focused more on the micro-level in which both multidimensional (Cattin et al., 1982;

Han & Terpstra, 1988) and unidimensional construct (Roth & Romeo, 1992; Amonini

et al., 1998) were considered. Nevertheless, there is no consensus on the number and

nature of the micro country image dimensions. Despite numerous dimensions

proposed, no particular dimension is found to fit with the research topic in regarded to

the Chinas dilemma.

Roth and Romeo (1992) noted that country appears to be a multidimensional

construct. As such it is unclear that a single measure of overall quality can be deemed

equivalent to country image. Yet, COO studies have frequently used a single measure

of products quality rating in order to understand the impact of made-in stereotypes

(e.g. Crawford & Garland [1988]; Hong & Wyer [1989]; Howard [1989]). In the light

of this, one semantic-differential dimension is set and concerned in this research.

Ancient versus modern are placed at the two opposite extremes to illustrate a

common belief that these 2 concepts cannot be integrated - a modern brand would not

possess stubborn traditions.

The divergence reflects the reality that there are trade-offs inherent in virtually

all aspects of business. Keller (2006) highlighted that 21st-century firms must possess

creativity to overcome tough marketing dilemmas, such as Continuity versus Change

- 15 -

- 16 -

as well as Classic versus Contemporary image in tactical. At the same time, a

successful firm must also be disciplined in its approach to growing its business, which

in itself at times can present a trade-off with innovativeness. Such a trade-off is also

known as the researchs interest Chinas branding dilemma..

The two extremes of the dimension are defined as:

Ancient: Long history, traditional wisdom and customs, disciplined, classic, etc.

Modern: Up-to-date design, advanced technology, innovative, contemporary, etc.

Based on the above definition, Ancient links with a countrys history, heritage

and cultural abundance while Modern relates to its technical advancements,

inventiveness and technology innovation. Similar dimensions of country image have

not only once been used in the COO literature. The former facet was adopted in

Nagashima (1970), Martin & Eroglu (1993) and etc., while the latter one was

consistently found in White (1979), Han & Terpstra (1988) and etc. Contrary to other

studies, these two facets have been combined in a semantic-differential way instead of

treating as two separate dimensions. An advantage for such a treatment is to magnify

the ambiguity in the market dilemma and provide more useful insights for managerial

decisions.

- 17 -

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Product category included in the study

Chinese medicine industry was selected as our research setting. It was assumed

that many participants would have used products from these categories and were able

to evaluate them. Two brands were included in this product category for the two

personalities being studied.

Chinese medicine industry was selected for three main reasons. First, heritage

and technology has drawn equally importance nowadays. Non-scaled Chinese

medicine can hardly be compared with the quantified Western medicine in tradition;

whereas there demands a move to advanced technology and scientific method in the

industry as China become more and more modernized. Moreover, with a

non-quantitive nature, credibility is owned to be the primary factor of brand choice.

Second, as globalization intensifies, the popularity and the use of Chinese

Medicine have been enhanced. Many hundred-year brands, such as Beijing Tong Ren

Tang () and Gui Zhou Tong Ji Tang (), have been facing

more fierce competition with the modern domestic brands like 2036 or even foreign

brands like Eu Yan Sang originating from Singapore. It is necessary to reinforce a

favorable brand personality as a point-of-difference.

Third, Chinese medicine is one of the most valuable heritage of China and

embodies profound culture meanings. The dilemma between history and modern is

magnified in such a context. This provides more salient result for investigation. For

the reasons above, it is desirable and essential to explore the research topic in Chinese

medicine industry.

In this research, only a single aspect of the CBBE model was interested.

However, the different levels of the CBBE Model are highly interacted. Hardly can a

set of existing brands, of which the brand awareness and familiarity are the same, be

identified. Therefore, a new brand is created for the research purpose with better

control.

Research design and Data Collection procedures

This research collects data by means of a questionnaire which consists of two

parts. The first part measures the three factors, i.e. brand personality perceptions,

brand credibility and country image perceptions; the second part records the

demographic information, the familiarity with country of the participants and the

screening questions.

The sampling frame is students who are Chinese Medicine consumers, including

actual consumers and potential consumers. Therefore, all participants were screened

- 18 -

by 1) whether they have ever purchased any Chinese Medicine products before; 2)

whether they would consider taking Chinese Medicine when they get ill; and 3) the

frequency of their consumption.

The data was collected from a student sample (n=100) from Hong Kong Baptist

University. All the participated students were invited through e-mail or in-personal to

fill in the questionnaire in the separated rooms according to the different

advertisement versions.

As a cover story, participants will be told that the marketer of a particular brand

of Chinese medicine is considering a new advertising campaign using the Chinas

development as background, and that consumer perceptions to the campaign are

needed. At the beginning, they were exposed to the country image frame by being

given an advertisement framing the development of China. Ancient and Modern

perceptions were primed. Following with the readings, the participants were subject to

a few screening questions about their consumption and usage of Chinese Medicine.

Brand credibility was first to be measured and country image perceptions was

measured then. The participants were finally asked of the questions about their brand

personality perceptions. At the end of the questionnaire, some demographic

information was collected.

- 19 -

The survey questionnaire reflected a 2 (brand personality) x 2 (Country Image)

between-subjects design, consisted of two between-subjects factors (country image

and brand personality). The factor country image encompasses two levels (Ancient

and Modern) and the factor brand personality is categorized into two levels

(sincerity and excitement).

Country Image

Ancient Modern

Sincerity X1 X2

Bran

d pe

rson

ality

Excitement X3 X4

Two different versions of the questionnaire, one for each country image, were

designed for each of the brand personality included in the study. Therefore, a total of

four versions of the questionnaire were designed, with each respondent completing

only one version. Each respondent was exposed randomly to one frame, and asked to

rate brand credibility, measures of brand personality perceptions and measures of

country image perceptions.

Personality was manipulated through three venues: (1) overall tonality as

conveyed through the vocabulary choice (e.g. Care for you for sincere brand vs.

Opt for breakthrough for exciting brand); (2) advertisement visuals, including

colors (Soft grey, brown, yellow vs. Bright red, white, green) and font (Heping

- 20 -

- 21 -

Xili- vs. Jinmei Maobeijie- ); and formatting (Regular vs.

Moving). Alternatively, country image was manipulated through 2 aspects: (1) content,

as conveyed through the examples and composition of the description (Following the

tradition for ancient image vs. Employing new technology for modern image); and

(2) the graphics used in the background and illustrations (Herbs and Master piece vs.

Pills and Chromatograph). The manipulation has further verified though two

pretests (n= 40)

The questionnaire will be designed originally in English. Accuracy of the

Chinese version was verified using a back-translation procedure with external

translator(s) unaware of the hypotheses.

RESULTS

This research will follow a two-step approach as recommended by Anderson and

Gerbing (1988). The first step in this approach is to develop an acceptable

measurement model before building on this model to predict causal relationships

among the study variables.

- 22 -

Reliability and Validity

Cronbachs will be used for the items of each construct as reliability check.

Notably, Nunnally and Bernstein (1994) suggested that 0.7 should be used as the

cutoff point for reliability with items that did not significantly contribute to the

reliability (item to total coefficient0.5) being deleted for the purpose of parsimony.

To determine the constructs validity, the brand personality and country image

scales will be tested for both convergent and discriminant validity. Bivariate

correlation analysis was used to provide evidence of convergent validity. According to

the following table, the correlation coefficients for the six components of sincerity

were in the range of 0.424 to 0.762, which were all significant at the p< 0.01 level.

Results also showed that the correlations among the five components of exciting

ranged from 0.522 to 0.723 and all were statistically significant at the p< 0.01 level.

Only weak correlations among the two brand personality manipulated were found.

(sin) -

Honest (sin) -

Sincere (sin) - Real

(sin) - Wholeso

me01

(sin) - Wholeso

me02 (sin) - Friendly

(ex) - Spirited

(ex) - Daring

(ex) - Young

(ex) - Imaginati

ve (ex) -

Trendy

(sin) - Honest 1 (sin) - Sincere .725** 1 (sin) - Real .688** .762** 1 (sin) - Wholesome01 .449** .508** .526** 1 (sin) - Wholesome02 .584** .488** .517** .614** 1 (sin) - Friendly .542** .512** .424** .590** .604** 1

(ex) - Spirited .166* .038 .124 .054 .239** .212* 1 (ex) - Daring .005 -.057 .048 .159 .223* .124 .637** 1 (ex) - Young .078 -.075 .056 .130 .136 .217* .565** .708** 1 (ex) - Imaginative .107 -.041 .066 .099 .178* .220* .573** .706** .643** 1(ex) - Trendy .070 .069 .088 .157 .238** .270** .522** .709** .664** .723** 1

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (1-tailed); *. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (1-tailed).

- 23 -

In addition, results presented below revealed that correlations among the five

components of country image ranged from 0.288 to 0.616 and were statistically

significant at the p< 0.01 level.

Traditional wisdom vs Advanced Tech. Long history vs

Up-to-date design Classic vs

Contemporary Disciplined vs

innovative Ancient vs Modern

Trad. Wisdom vs Advan. Tech. 1

Long hist. vs Up-to-date design .541** 1

Classic vs Contemporary .532** .580** 1

Disciplined vs innovative .325** .288** .399** 1 .

Ancient vs Modern .508** .387** .563** .616** 1

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (1-tailed).

Thus, evidence of convergent validity was provided since the correlation pattern

showed that components of each of the brand personality and country image were

convergent within a common construct.

To test dscriminant validity, a simple factor analysis employing the principal

component method was conducted on components of the brand personality, COO

image and the brand credibility. Results showed that six factors emerged and

explained more than 71% of the total variance. Factor loadings were all above 0.5 on

their corresponding constructs, showing that the participants could discriminate

between the measures of brand credibility, brand personality and country image, thus

providing evidence of discriminant validity (Podsakoff & Organ, 1986)

Variables Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 Factor 4 Factor 5 Factor 6 Cred Likeability - like .868 Cred Likeability - admire .795 Cred. Expertise - trust .730 Cred Likeability - respect02 .655 Cred Likeability - respect01 .646 Cred. Expertise - knowledgeable .601 Cred. Expertise - innovative .570 Cred. Trustworthiness - having in mind .801 Cred. Trustworthiness - caring .796 Cred. Trustworthiness - understanding .591 Personality (sin) - Honest .836 Personality (sin) - Sincere .785 Personality (sin) - Wholesome02 .745 Personality (sin) - Friendly .711 Personality (sin) - Real .505 .644 Personality (sin) - Wholesome01 .637 Personality (ex) - Daring .865 Personality (ex) - Trendy .783 Personality (ex) - Imaginative .774 Personality (ex) - Young .765 Personality (ex) - Spirited .646 Country Image - Trad wisdom vs. Advan. Tech .833 Country Image - Classic vs. contemporary .768 Country Image - Long Hist. vs. Up-to-date design .753 Country Image - Ancient vs. Modern .591 .556 Country Image - Disciplined vs. innovative .632 Notes: Percentage of total variance explained 71.1%.

Manipulation check

To assess the effectiveness of the brand personality manipulation, participants

rated the degree to which the brand could be described by sincerity traits (sincere,

wholesome) as well as exciting traits (exciting, young and trendy; 1=strongly disagree;

7= strongly agree) (Aaker, 1997). A 2 (brand personality) x 2 (country image) run on

the sincerity index yielded only a main effect of brand personality, where higher

ratings on the sincerity index were found in the sincere condition versus the exciting

condition (Msincerity= 4.48 vs. Mexcitement= 4.14; F= 5.23, p < 0.05). A 2x2 on the

- 24 -

exciting index also yield a brand personality main effect, where higher ratings on the

exciting index were found for the exciting versus sincere condition (Mexcitement = 4.17

vs. Msincerity = 3.60; F= 7.77, p < 0.01).

To assess the country mage manipulation, participants were asked the degree to

which China can be described either ancient or modern in each

semantic-differential question. An 2x2 ANOVA run on the country image index

yielded only a main effect of ancient image where those in the ancient frame had

lower ratings on the index than those in the modern frame (Mancient = 3.02 vs. Msincerity

= 3.79; F= 20.18, p

ANOVA

To test the hypotheses, the overall model was run on the evaluation index, an

average of the nine items of three brand credibility indicators. Brand personality and

country image served as between-subjects variables. As expected, the ANOVA

resulted in a significant two-way brand personality x country image interaction (F=

12.48, ps< 0.01). This suggests that country image acts as a moderator between brand

personality and brand credibility. In other words, the sincere brand could attain higher

brand credibility under the ancient frame, whereas the exciting brand could attain

higher brand credibility under the modern frame. Therefore, H1 is strongly supported.

Contrast Analysis

To explore the viability of hypothesis 2 and 3, the differential impact of the

- 26 -

country image was examined on brand credibility with the two personality types with

contrast tests.

For the insight into H2, which suggests the influence of ancient country image is

more positive on a sincere brand than on an exciting brand, contrast on brand

credibility between the sincere x ancient and the exciting x ancient

conditions was examined. Contrasts showed that brand credibility was significantly

higher for the sincere brand than the exciting brand both framed the ancient country

image (M = 3.99 vs. 3.34; F= 5.23, p < 0.05), thus supporting H2.

It was hypothesized in H3 that modern country image influences more positively

on the exciting brand than the sincere brand. Based on the contrasts on brand

credibility between the sincere x modern and the exciting x modern

conditions, it was revealed that the exciting brand attained higher brand credibility

than the sincere brand under the modern frame (M = 4.10 vs. 3.72; F= 5.23, p < 0.05).

Therefore, H3 is supported.

Interestingly, it should be noted that the moderating effect of country image

exerts a stronger impact on the exciting brand than the sincere brand. Follow-up

contrasts revealed that there was significant difference in brand credibility of the

exciting brand under ancient versus modern country image (M ancient = 3.34 vs. M modern

- 27 -

= 4.10; F= 5.23, p < 0.05), whereas no significant difference was showed in the brand

credibility of the sincere under the two country image. This illustrated more clearly

how the moderating effect of country image varies with different personalities and

brand credibility perception is resulted.

DISCUSSION & IMPLICATIONS

The present study aimed to examine the relationship between brand personality,

country image and brand credibility, specifically in the Chinese context. This research

provides new findings for the literature and offers support to some existing findings.

Theoretical Implications

Resulted revealed that country image was found to be a moderator in the

relationship between brand personality and brand credibility. It should be highlighted

that very few studies have been conducted on the interaction effect of COO and brand

personality in the US or non-US settings (Wang & Yang, 2008). The findings also

contribute to some insights on the complexity of COO effects, particularly with the

culture- embodied brand concepts. Aaker (1997) has highlighted that brand

personality varies with different cultures. Due to the culture specific nature and the

important linkage between a country and its culture, it is valuable to explore this topic

- 28 -

in China, where her cultural heritage is of abundance as well as the brand

management concepts are not mature and consolidated.

In addition, it has long been argued that country image is dynamic, and believed

to change with time (Jaffe & Nebenzahl, 2001). This is perfectly describing the case

of recent China, which is undergoing transforms and modernization. Increasingly,

China owns her reputable national brands, such as Haier, exerting her impacts around

the world. It is believed the label of Chinas products standing for cheap, low-end and

poor qualities, has been changing since its entry to World Trade Organization. This

research has provided some interesting findings on how brands should change with

the changing country image. It was found that the two brand personalities studied,

sincere versus exciting, behave oppositely each together under the two country image

framed, ancient versus modern. This also echoes the proposed future research of Ravi

et al (2007) on examining whether the impact of the macro and micro country images

on the consumer-based equity of a brand changes over time.

Sincere and exciting brand personality templates merit attention in the light of

their prominence in the marketing landscape (Aaker, Fournier & Brasel, 2004). This

research studied the fit and match of country image with the two most dominant brand

personalities, extending the prior studies by giving a more in-depth understanding of

how they differ and perform under different settings. It provides evidence to explain

- 29 -

what exactly means a favorable or unfavorable country image (Ravi et al, 2007) and

what gives a negative or positive COO effects (Wang & Yang, 2008). For instance,

ancient carries the meaning in two flows, negative and positive, as well as

conservativeness and traditional wisdom. Notwithstanding whatever meaning, it is not

a good idea to link an exciting brand with the idea of ancient since it may cause

ambiguity and deteriorate the brand meaning as a result. In this sense, an ancient

country image could be concluded to be unfavorable and exert a negative COO effect

to exciting brands. It is suggested that any county image may not have absolutely

good or bad meaning in its nature, but the COO effect depends on its fit and match

with the product category and the particular brand.

Managerial implications

This research pinpoints some important keys which benefits marketers and brand

managers, particularly of the hundred-year brands. Traditionally, marketers focus has

been on developing the word-of-mouth and the quality of their brands and products.

This story holds the same for China. Some evidence has showed that marketers need

to go a step further and manage the country image, while also managing their

marketing mix (Ravi et al, 2007). In other words, apart from composing both good

brand strategies to differentiate themselves in the market, companies need to either

stress or downplay the COO effect, depending on whether the relevant COO image is

- 30 -

- 31 -

positive or not, in order to achieve market success.

First, brand managers have to consider whether to down play the country image

in the marketing mix. It should be first pointed out that the practice of using the

country spots and country development as the frame or background of advertising

campaign is so prevailing in China. For example, it is not hard to find brands using

famous landmarks as their brand name, like the Great Wall (). Moreover,

marketers frequently employ some impressive architecture, like the Olympic

buildings in Beijing, the Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai and etc., as the

advertisement or package background, symbolizing that they are keeping pace with

the countrys development and imply that they are modern and contemporary.

However, the findings suggested that such a kind of practice may not be suitable for

all the cases. Brand managers should pay attention the use of country image related

elements. They need to consider if there is a genuine need and it is of a desperate

importance, thus choosing the most suitable theme for managing the marketing mix.

Second, manager should be responsive enough to the changes in the environment,

including the country development. Especially for the hundred-year brands,

revitalizing their brand meanings accordingly to the changing country perceptions

may be opted as an essential step to secure their sales and their leading position. It is

crucial for managers to identify and eliminate the outdated and irrelevant elements

actively by regularly measuring the brand equity and understand consumers tastes.

Brands should play a more proactive role in educating consumers about their

transformation and breakthroughs. Failure to revitalize the brand implies a deficiency

in brand management and is devastating to the brand prospect.

Most importantly, brand managers should be aware of the clarity of the

positioning. The findings suggested country image or other single elements may not

be definitely positive or negative in essence. The effectiveness of a marketing mix

cannot be determined by a single factor. Fit and match with the country image and the

elements in CBBE model deserves attention and emphasis. Brand management is a

very dynamic process. Therefore, in order to formulate the best combination of

marketing mix, managers should always refer back to positioning to see whether it is

clear or not.

LIMITATIONS & FUTURE RESEARCH

According to Herbig & Milewicz (1995), brand credibility represents the

cumulative effect of the credibility of all previous marketing actions taken by that

brand. In other words, brand credibility takes time to develop through different tools

in the marketing mix. For experimental purposes, the present research created a new

- 32 -

brand with the aid of a full-page advertisement. Undeniably, a certain level of brand

credibility has been ignited, but its intensity and strength are questionable. Therefore,

priority in further research should be given to replicating the present study using the

existing brands, then with different product categories, brands, countries and

consumer populations as explained below.

The model developed in this study was tested for only one product categories.

Given that country-of- origin effects are believed to be product category specific

(Kaynak & Cavusgil, 1983; Jaffe & Nebenzahl, 2001), further testing is therefore

required to establish whether the results can be generalized. Clearly, researchers

should include other brands and product categories in similar studies. Moreover,

future studies may use different types of product such as other convenience goods and

durable goods, or even services (of varying degree of intangibility).

A small portion of participants were mainland students who were not borne or

grew up in Hong Kong, but were included in the analysis. Due to nationalism, they

might possess special affection towards China. Participants who originated from other

cities might hence exhibit different degrees of understanding about the Chinese

culture and report different country image perceptions compared with participants

who soaked with the historical colonial impact. This might have biased the results.

Moreover, country-of-origin effects are known to vary by consumer nationality

- 33 -

(Bilkey & Nes, 1982) and culture (Gurhan-Canli & Maheswaran, 2000).

In addition, the present study used data collected from a student sample from a

university in Hong Kong. Hence it is possible that this sample may not be

representative of consumers nationwide. Yet, it should be noted that the focus of this

research is theory testing, but not aiming for generalizability. It is also very often to

use student sample in experiments for better controls (e.g. Aaker, Fournier & Brasel,

2004). Furthermore, they possessed a shared value system founded in the university

education. They tend to be more homogeneous thus providing with higher internal

validity. Notably, Chinese medicine is a product that they know. Therefore, it is

considered that a student sample should be representative enough. Still, additional

research with national samples would help in establishing the broader generalizability

of the results.

Extant literature does not provide clues of how the lower level of the CBBE

model interacts with the upper level. This research has touched on this field by taking

brand personality on a brand meaning level, as an antecedent, influence the brand

credibility on the brand response level. Yet, further research may examine how brand

personality interacts with another more abstract dimension, such as the brand feeling

and loyalty. The results would help marketing managers understand the use of

affection elements to ignite consumers feelings and responses.

- 34 -

CONCLUSION

In the light of the impact of the changing country image on the consumers

perceptions towards Chinese brands and products, this research aims to bridge the

gaps between the western and the oriental literature in brand management and country

image. This research has studied the moderation effect of country image between the

brand credibility and brand personalities.

Evidence has shown that the interaction effect was significant. In other words,

brand personality exerts different levels of influence on brand credibility under

different country image perceptions. It was found that a sincere brand was better

matched with an ancient image, while an exciting brand would perform well under a

modern image. Furthermore, it seems that the moderation effect impacts less on the

sincere brand than the exciting brand.

These findings were found in line with the extant researches and further extended

their studies by echoing their calls for future research. On the other hand, some

recommendations for brand management, such as revitalization and positioning, were

drawn. This provided valuable cues and improvements on practice for brand managers

in China. It was concluded that the objective of this research was fulfilled and

remarkable insights for both theoretical and managerial aspects were contributed.

- 35 -

At the end, some limitations of this research have been stated and suggestions

were made for further improvements. Besides, in regarded to the significance of

extending further on this topic, some future research directions were proposed.

REFERENCE

1. Aaker, D.A. (1991). Managing Brand Equity: Capitalizing on the Value of a Brand Name. The Free Press, New York, NY.

2. Aaker, J. (1997). Dimensions of brand personality. Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 34 No. 3, pp. 347-56.

3. Aaker J., Benet-Martinez V., Garolera J. (2001). Consumption symbols as carriers of culture: A study of Japanese and Spanish brand personality constructs [J]. Journal of Personality and social Psychology, 81 (3): 492-508.

4. Aaker J., Fournier S., Brasel S.A. (2004). When good brands do bad [J]. Jounral of Consumer Research, 31 (6): 1-16

5. Amonini, C., Keogh, J. & Sweeney, J.C. (1998). The dual nature of country-of-origin effects: a study of Australian consumers evaluations. Australasian Marketing Journal 6(2): 1327.

6. Bannister, J. P. & Saunders, J. A. (1978). UK consumers attitudes towards imports: The measurement of national stereotype image, European Journal of Marketing, 12 (8), 562 570.

7. Berry, L.L. (1995). Relationship Marketing of Services: Growing Interest, Emerging Perspectives. Journal of Academy of Marketing Science. 23 (Fall), 236-245.

8. Biel, A. (1993). Converting image into equity. In Aaker, D.A. and Biel, A. (Eds), Brand Equity and Advertising, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, NJ.

9. Bilkey, Warren J. & Nes, E. (1982). Country-of-origin effects on product evaluations. Journal of International Business Studies, Spring/Summer, 13:

- 36 -

89-99.

10. Blackston, M (1992). A brand with an attitude: a suitable case for the treatment. Journal of the Marketing Research Society, Vol. 34 No. 3, pp. 231-41.

11. Blackston, M (1993). Beyond brand personality: building brand relationships. In Aaker, D. and Biel, A. (Eds), Brand Equity and Advertising: Advertisings Role in Building Strong Brands, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ., pp. 113-24.

12. Cattin, P., Alain J. & Colleen L. (1982). A cross-cultural study of "made in" concepts. Journal of International Business Studies, winter, 13: 131-41.

13. Crawford, J.C. & Barbara C.G. (1988). German and American perceptions of product quality. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 1(1): 63-78.

14. Czellar, S. (2003). Consumer attitude toward brand extensions: an integrative model and research propositions. International Journal of Research in Marketing, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 97-115.

15. Erdem, T., & Swait, J. (1998). Brand equity as a signaling phenomenon. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 7 (2), 131 157.

16. Erdem, T., Swait J., & Louviere J. (2002). The impact of brand credibility on consumer price sensitivity. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 19(1), 1-19.

17. Fournier, S. (1998). A consumer-brand relationship frame-work for strategy brand management. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.

18. Freling, T.H. & Forbes, L.P. (2005). An empirical analysis of the brand personality effect. The Journal of Product and Brand Management, Vol. 14 No. 7, pp. 404-13.

19. Gurhan-Canli, Z. & Maheswaran, D. (2000). Cultural variations in country of origin effects. Journal of Marketing Research 37(3): 309317.

20. Han, C.M. (1989). Country image: Halo or summary construct? Journal of Marketing Research, May, 26: 222-29.

21. Han, C.M. & Terpstra, V. (1988). Country-of-origin effects for uni-national and bi-national products. Journal of International Business Studies, Summer, pp. 235-55.

22. Herbig, P., & Milewicz, J. (1995). The relationship of reputation and credibility

- 37 -

- 38 -

to brand success. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 12 (4), 5 10.

23. Hong, S.T. & Wyer, R.J. (1989). Effects of country-of-origin and product-attribute information on product evaluation: An information processing perspective. Journal of Consumer Re- search, September, 16: 175-87.

24. Howard, D.G. (1989). Understanding how American consumers formulate their attitudes about foreign products. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 2(2): 7-24.

25. Huang S.B. () & Lu T.W. () (2003). Localized Study of Brand Dimensions () [J]. , 6(1): 4-9

26. Jaffe, E.D. and Nebenzahl, I.D. (2001) National Image and Competitive Advantage: The Theory and Practice of Country-of-Origin Effect, Copenhagen Business School Press: Copenhagen.

27. Johansson et al. (1986). Multinational production: Effect on brand value. Journal of International Business Studies. Fall: 101-26.

28. Kapferer, J.N. (1992). La Marca, capitial de la Empresa, Ediciones Deusto, Bilbao

29. Kaynak, E. & Cavusgil, S.T. (1983). Consumer attitudes towards products of foreign origin: do they vary across product classes? International Journal of Advertising 2(2): 147157.

30. Keller, K.L. (1993). Conceptualizing, measuring, and managing customer-based brand equity. Journal of Marketing, 57(1), 1.

31. Keller, K.L. (2001). Building customer-based brand equity. Marketing Management, 10(2), 14-19.

32. Keller, K.L. (2003), Strategic Brand Management, 2nd ed., Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ.

33. Kevin L.K. & Keith R. (2006). The importance of corporate brand personality traits to a successful 21st century business. Journal of Brand Management, 14(1/2), 74-81.

34. Lau, K.C. & Phau, I. (2007). Extending symbolic brands using their personality: examining antecedents and implications towards brand image fit and brand dilution. Psychology & Marketing, Vol. 24 No. 5, pp. 421-44.

35. Levy, S.J. (1985). Dreams, fairy tales, animals, and cars. Psychology and

Marketing, Vol. 2, Summer, pp. 67-81.

36. Martin, I.M. & Eroglu, S. (1993). Measuring a Multi-Dimensional Construct: Country Image. Journal of Business Research 28 (November): 191-210.

37. McCracken G. (1986). Culture and consumption: A theoretical account of the structure and movement of the cultural meaning of consumer goods. Journal of Consumer Research, 13: 71-84.

38. Morgan, R.M. & Hunt, S.D. (1994). The commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing. Journal of Marketing, 58(3), 20.

39. Nagashima, A. (1970). A comparison of Japanese and U.S. attitudes toward foreign products. Journal of Marketing, January, 34: 68-74.

40. Narayana, C.L. (1981). Aggregate images of American and Japanese products: Implications on international marketing. Columbia Journal of World Business, Summer, 16: 31-35.

41. Nunnally, J.C., & Bernstein, I. H. (1994). Psychometric theory (3rd Ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

42. Podsakoff, P.M. & Organ, D.W. (1986). Self-reports in organizational research: problems and prospects. Journal of Management, Vol. 12 No. 4, pp. 531-44.

43. Ravi P. et al (2007). Country image and consumer-based brand equity: relationships and implications for international marketing. Journal of International Business Studies 38, 726745

44. Roth, M.S. & Romeo, J.B. (1992). Matching product category and country image perceptions: a framework for managing country-of-origin effects. Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 23 No. 3, pp. 477-97.

45. Shugan, S. (1980). The cost of thinking. J. Consumer Res. 7 99111.

46. Sirgy, J. (1982). Self-concept in consumer behavior: a critical review. Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 9 No. 3, pp. 287-301.

47. Srinivasan, N., B. T. Ratchford. (1991). An empirical test of a model of external search in automobiles. J. Consumer Res. 18 233242.

48. Swait J. & Erdem T. (2007). Brand Effects on Choice and Choice Set Formation Under Uncertainty. Marketing Science, 26(5), 679-697,727,729-730.

49. Thakor, M.V., & Katsanis, L.P. (1997). A model of brand and country effects on

- 39 -

- 40 -

quality dimensions: Issues and implications. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 9(3), 79-100.

50. Wang X.H. & Yang Z.L. (2008). Does country-of-origin matter in the relationship between brand personality and purchase intention in emerging economies: Evidence from China's auto industry. International Marketing Review, 25(4), 458-474.

51. Wernerfelt, B. (1988). Umbrella branding as a signal of new product quality: An example of signaling by posting a bond. RAND J. Econom. 19 458466.

52. White, P.D. (1979). Attitudes of U.S. purchasing managers toward industrial products manufactured in selected western European nations. Journal of International Business Studies, Spring/Summer, 10: 81-90.

53. Zhang M.X. (2007). Impact of Brand Personality on PALI: A Comparative Research between Two Different Brands. International Management Review, 3(3), 36-44,107-108.

APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE SAMPLE (ENGLISH)

A new Chinese Medicine Brand will enter the Hong Kong market very soon. To promote this brand and introduce its products, the brand has decided to launch a marketing campaign with Chinas development as the promotion theme. Your comments and perceptions toward the campaign are very useful and valuable.

You are invited to be one of our honorable guests to read the unpublished advertisement draft of the campaign. An advertisement is attached with this questionnaire separately. Please read it first and then complete the questionnaire. It just takes about 5-10 minutes. Your sincere help is highly appreciated. Thank you very much!!

Part (A)

(Please circle the correct or the most suitable answers for the following questions.)

1. Have you ever purchased any Chinese medicine products?

A) Yes B) No

2. Have you ever consumed any Chinese medicine products?

A) Yes B) No

3. How often do you consume Chinese medicine products?

A) Rarely (0-1 times per month) B) Seldom (2-4 times per month)

C) Sometimes (5-8 times per month) D) Often (9-12 per month)

E) Very often (>12 times per month)

To what extent are you familiar to Chinese medicine products?

4. Very unfamiliar 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Very familiar

5. Very common 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Very uncommon

6. Very infamous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Very famous

- 42 -

Part (B)

Circle the best description of your agreement on the following statements. (1= strongly disagree; 7= strongly agree.)

Strongly disagree Strongly agree

7. The makers of this brand are knowledgeable 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8. The makers of this brand are innovative. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9. You trust the makers of this brand. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10. You like this brand. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

11. You admire this brand. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12. You respect this brand. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13. The makers of this brand understand your needs. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14. The makers of this brand care about your opinions. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15. The makers of this brand have your interests in mind. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Part (C)

Circle the best description of what you have learnt about China from the advertisement.

16. China is a country with Traditional wisdom 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Advanced technologies

17. China is a country with Long history 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Up-to-date design

18. The products of China are Classic 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Contemporary

19. In general, China is a _______ country. Disciplined 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Innovative

20. All in all, China is a ________ country. Ancient 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Modern

- 43 -

Circle your own perceptions towards China.

21. Feudal 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Open

22. Developing 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Developed

23. Favourable 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Unfavourable

Part (D)

Imagine the brand is your new friend. How do you think about him based on the information from the advertisement? Circle the best description of what the brand is. (1= strongly disagree; 7= strongly agree.)

Strongly disagree Strongly agree

24. Honest 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

25. Sincere 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

26. Real 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

27. Wholesome 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

28. Friendly 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

29. Spirited 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

30. Daring 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

31. Young 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32. Imaginative 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33. Up-to-date 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Circle the best description of how you feel about the brand.

34. Very unfavorable 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Very favorable

35. Negative 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Positive

36. Bad 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Good

- 44 -

Part (E)

Circle the best description of your agreement on the following statements. (1= strongly disagree; 7= strongly agree.)

Strongly disagree Strongly agree

37. This brand pretend to be something it isnt. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

38. I know what this brand stands for. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

39. I have trouble figuring out what image this brand is 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 trying to create.

Strongly disagree Strongly agree

40. In general, people really do care about the 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 well-being of others.

41. Most of the time, people care enough to try to be 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 helpful, rather that just looking out for themselves.

42. I think people generally try to back up their words 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 with their action.

43. Most professionals are very knowledge in their 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 chosen field.

Strongly disagree Strongly agree

44. I am comfortable making purchases of Chinese Medicine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7.

45. There are enough safeguards to make me feel comfortable 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 using to consume and buy Chinese Medicine products.

46. I feel assured that legal and technological structures 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 adequately protect me from problems with Chinese Medicine.

47. In general, the institutional environment is a safe now for 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 buying and consuming Chinese Medicine products.

- 45 -

Part (F)

(Please circle the correct or the most suitable answers for the following questions.)

48. Studying Field:

A) School of Chinese Medicine B) Faculty of Science C) School of Communication

D) Faculty of Social Sciences E) Faculty of Arts F) Academy of Visual Arts

G) School of Business Other: (Please specify)

49. Gender: Male / Female

Age: _______________ (Please specify.)

- 46 -

APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE SAMPLE (CHINESE)

UU

- 47 -

50. ?

A) B)

51. ?

A) B)

52. ?

A) ( 0-1 ) B) ( 2-4 ) C) ( 5-8 )

D) ( 9-12 ) E) ( 12 )

53. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

54. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

55. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

UU1= 7=

56. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

57. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

58. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

59. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

60. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

61. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

62. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

- 48 -

UU1= 7=

63. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

64. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

65. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

U U

66.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

67.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

68.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

U U______

69. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

70. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

UU

71. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

72. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

73. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

- 49 -

U U (1= 7= )

74. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

75. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

76. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

77. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

78. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

79. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

80. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

81. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

82. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

83. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

84. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

UU

85. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

86. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

87. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

UU(1= 7= )

88. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

89. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

90. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

- 50 -

UU(1= 7= )

91. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

92. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

93. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

94. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

95. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

96. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

97. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

98. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

()

99.

A) B) C) D)

E) F) G) : ()

100. __________________ ()

101. /

102. __________________ ()

!!

APPENDIX

Advertisements (Sincere x Ancient)

Advertisements (Sincere x Modern)

Advertisements (Exciting x Ancient)

Advertisements (Exciting x Modern)

- 52 -

- 53 -

- 54 -

- 55 -

- 56 -

APPENDIX TABLES OF MEANS AND OTHER STATISTICAL DATA

Demographic Statistics

Frequency

Studying Year Gender Age Valid 100 100 100N

Missing 0 0 0Mean 2.1400 1.6900 21.0100Std. Deviation .82902 .46482 1.34461Variance .687 .216 1.808

Studying Year

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent0 1 1.0 1.0 1.0

1 25 25.0 25.0 26.0

2 33 33.0 33.0 59.0

3 41 41.0 41.0 100.0

Valid

Total 100 100.0 100.0

Gender

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative PercentMale 31 31.0 31.0 31.0

Female 69 69.0 69.0 100.0

Valid

Total 100 100.0 100.0

Age

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent18 1 1.0 1.0 1.0

19 12 12.0 12.0 13.0

20 25 25.0 25.0 38.0

21 28 28.0 28.0 66.0

22 18 18.0 18.0 84.0

23 13 13.0 13.0 97.0

24 3 3.0 3.0 100.0

Valid

Total 100 100.0 100.0

- 57 -

ANOVA Results

Descriptive Statistics

Dependent Variable:Overall Credibility

Sincere vs Exciting Ancient vs Modern Mean Std. Deviation N

Ancient 3.9880 .64182 25

Modern 3.7200 .70475 25

sin

Total 3.8540 .68070 50Ancient 3.3440 .96569 25Modern 4.1000 .50990 25

ex

Total 3.7220 .85435 50Ancient 3.6660 .87426 50Modern 3.9100 .63832 50

Total

Total 3.7880 .77137 100

Tests of Between-Subjects Effects

Dependent Variable:Overall Credibility

Source Type III Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

Corrected Model 8.478Pa P 3 2.826 5.380 .002Intercept 1434.894 1 1434.894 2.732E3 .000PER .436 1 .436 .829 .365CIadsLABEL 1.488 1 1.488 2.833 .096PER * CIadsLABEL 6.554 1 6.554 12.476 .001Error 50.428 96 .525 Total 1493.800 100 Corrected Total 58.906 99

a. R Squared = .144 (Adjusted R Squared = .117)

Contrast Tests

Contrast

Value of

Contrast Std. Error t df

Sig.

(2-tailed)

Ex., Ancient Vs. Modern -.7560 .21841 -3.461 36.417 .001

Sin., Ancient Vs. Modern .2680 .19064 1.406 47.586 .166

Modern, Ex. Vs. Sin. .3800 .17397 2.184 43.723 .034

Overall

Credibility

Ancient, Ex. Vs. Sin. -.6440 .23191 -2.777 41.741 .008